Erling Haaland's extraordinary influence has spread from the pitch to the supermarket aisles, with the Manchester City striker credited with an unlikely spike in how many carrots Norwegians are buying, according to new reports.
Erling Haaland is one of the most influential sporting figures globally.
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There are few bigger names in world football than Haaland right now, and this summer somehow elevated his profile to even greater heights.
A starring role at the World Cup, which saw him become something of a cult hero in the United States, transformed the City striker from elite goalscorer into a global phenomenon on a level few players ever reach.
His reach, it turns out, now extends into the places that every player surely dreams of - the fruit and vegetable shelves of his homeland.
The Norway National Team reversed a decision to make Erling Haaland available for a press conference on Friday following news of a guilty verdict handed down against Manchester City in breach of the Premier League's financial rules, as per a new report.cityxtra.co.ukNorway Shield Erling Haaland From Media Spotlight After Man City 114 Charges Guilty Verdict News
The Norway National Team reversed a decision to make Erling Haaland available for a press conference on Friday following news of a guilty verdict handed down against Manchester City in breach of the Premier League's financial rules, as per a new report.
Haaland Behind Norway's Carrot Boom
As reported by talkSPORT, sales of carrots across Norway have rocketed by around a quarter over the past couple of months, and the finger of suspicion points firmly at the nation's most famous export.
Haaland is a well-documented lover of the vegetable, having been photographed nibbling on them as he signs autographs and fronting a summer advertising push for wholesaler Bama, driving a truck and merrily eating carrots on screen.
The scale of the increase is striking. talkSPORT spoke to Iselin Sagen - a nutrition advisor in Norway - who revealed that July delivered record figures, with strong sales carrying on through August.
“The sales went up in July. We have never seen this record in July before,” Sagen said. “We had a big campaign with Haaland running before every match. He drives the trucks, eats the carrots and asks for more carrots. So, I cannot prove that it was him. But he is a huge role model in Norway and he was right in the middle of it.”
To put the boom into perspective, Sagen estimated that an extra 600 tonnes or so were shifted during July 2026 against the same month a year before - the equivalent of one or two additional carrots for every person in a nation of roughly 5.5 million.
The Haaland Effect in Full Swing
The carrot craze is merely the latest quirk in the tale of a player whose fame has erupted over the summer. City's Haaland fired Norway to the FIFA World Cup quarter-final, netting seven times in six matches before their exit to England and ending the tournament as its third-highest scorer on his first appearance at a finals, while his Instagram following ballooned from 40 million to 60 million.
His unusual diet has long intrigued supporters, too, with the striker previously revealing a 6,000-calorie daily intake that includes heart, liver and raw honey. Sagen, meanwhile, believes his roots in the tiny farming community of Bryne, in the Rogaland region, lie behind his fondness for home-grown produce.
“I really do think that Erling Haaland loves Norwegian vegetables,” she added. “He grew up in a district where there are many farmers in Bryne, a small place in Rogaland district.”
Crucially for Manchester City, none of the off-pitch noise has blunted his edge in front of goal, with Haaland finding the net five times in his opening five Premier League games of the season. It turns out being nearly impossible to catch is not the only thing Haaland has in common with Bugs Bunny.